The first LEADS conference was hosted virtually by NHSA, and 1476 people registered to enhance Head Start and Early Head Start programs' innovative best practices and skills. Over the course of three days, I attended various sessions including "Best Practices for Training Staff for Data Collection," "Program Planning & Child Development," "Managing Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance (ERSEA) Services," and "A Conversation about Focus Area 2 Reviews." Despite not explicitly mentioning data collection within the titles and descriptions of the sessions, much of these conversations focused on the importance of data literacy, data best practices, and data transparency in the context of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI).
Source: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/school-readiness/article/continuous-learning-quality-improvement
Continuous Learning and Quality Improvement is one of the program foundations in the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework, which encompasses the use of data to improve family engagement practices, among other indicators that measure family outcomes, as well as child outcomes. Led by Acorn, the session demonstrated the data generating process, beginning with data collection, data coding, and data entry followed by data analysis and decision-making.
Source: “Best Practices for Training Staff for Data Collection” LEADS session.
A later session on Program Planning and Child Development defined data interpretation as “the implementation of processes through which data is reviewed to arrive at an informed conclusion. The interpretation of data assigns a meaning to the information analyzed and determines its signification and implications.” The session leader emphasizing the importance of studying the data, before deciding how it will be used and what it is saying and measuring versus what a program would like the data to ideally reflect.
Source: “Program Planning and Child Development” LEADS session.
The conference was enlightening in the sense that it allowed me to contextualize various terms and practices that I’ve learned throughout this internship. Additionally, it allowed me to gain an understanding of programs’ strengths and concerns as an incredibly difficult year comes to an end for many Head Start staff.